www.RogerWendell.com
Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic Evolution^SM

photo, Michael Natale

Peace and Justice

In May of '04 my family and I were very lucky to spend time together in Japan. While there, we found much of the populace to be interested in peace and other related issues. One example was the man in a small Tokyo restaurant who simply wanted to tell us he was for peace. In Hiroshima, two elderly women, practitioners of Shintoism (Japan's only indigenous religion), prayed over us (with our permission) for peace. It was an especially moving experience and I can only hope the practice spreads to North America! - Roger J. Wendell

U.S. Department of Peace

I, personally, am lucky to be able to conduct a talk show on community radio station KGNU in Boulder and Denver. On September 23rd, 2005, I was especially fortunate to have three guests on to discuss the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace. My guests were Marianne Williamson (The Peace Alliance), Zainab Salbi (Women for Women International) and George Newell (Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center).

The topic was timely as Senator Mark Dayton, just two days earlier, had proposed legislation to create a U.S. Department of Peace. Senator Dayton said, "If we are to remain the world's leader, and if we are to lead the world into a more secure and more prosperous future, we must become better known and more respected for our peacemaking successes than for our military forces. Peace, to have any lasting value, must be advanced, expanded and strengthened continuously. Doing so requires skill, dedication, persistence, resources, and, most importantly, people."

Also timely was the huge peace and anti-war rally that was about to take place in Washington, D.C. - the day after our radio show. The New York Times reported that, "Vast numbers of protesters from around the country poured onto the lawns behind the White House..." As polls were consistently showing, at the time of my radio program, the majority of Americans were no longer supporting the invasion of Iraq and desire for peace seemed to be moving across our country.

So, a radio program devoted to the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace was well received by our listening audience. Some of the points we discussed included the recently proposed legislation calling for the Department's budget to be the equivalent of 2% of U.S. defense budget and what the responsibilities of its secretary would be (A cabinet level position providing the President with recommendations regarding the social and financial impact of domestic and international policies). We also talked about how the Department of Peace will create and administer a U.S. Peace Academy and that it would act as a sister organization to the U.S. Military Academy. Discussion, overall, covered ways the Department of Peace will engage in conflict resolution and an overall reduction in violence and aggression.

Over a year prior to our discussion, during the summer of 2004, Walter Cronkite wrote in support of creating a U.S. Department of Peace Cronkite, "...To some this is going to sound terribly naive, given the current state of things and the very real, hard-edged dangers that face us. But the naiveté just might lie on the other side - on the side of those who believe that military force and our policy of pre-emption are alone sufficient to make us safe."

I agree! It's my hope that the never ending cycle of invasion, killing and war-making come to an end. It would seem that creating a peace department would be an important step in that direction...

- Roger J. Wendell
September 25, 2005

Below is the text of the "We stand for Peace & Justice" petition that was found at: www.zmag.org

THE STATEMENT:

"I stand for peace and justice.

I stand for democracy and autonomy. I don't think the U.S. or any other country should ignore the popular will and violate and weaken international law, seeking to bully and bribe votes in the Security Council.

I stand for internationalism. I oppose any nation spreading an ever expanding network of military bases around the world and producing an arsenal unparalleled in the world.

I stand for equity. I don't think the U.S. or any other country should seek empire. I don't think the U.S. ought to control Middle Eastern oil on behalf of U.S. corporations and as a wedge to gain political control over other countries.

I stand for freedom. I oppose brutal regimes in Iraq and elsewhere but I also oppose the new doctrine of "preventive war," which guarantees permanent and very dangerous conflict, and is the reason why the U.S. is now regarded as the major threat to peace in much of the world. I stand for a democratic foreign policy that supports popular opposition to imperialism, dictatorship, and political fundamentalism in all its forms.

I stand for solidarity. I stand for and with all the poor and the excluded. Despite massive disinformation millions oppose unjust, illegal, immoral war, and I want to add my voice to theirs. I stand with moral leaders all over the world, with world labor, and with the huge majority of the populations of countries throughout the world.

I stand for diversity. I stand for an end to racism directed against immigrants and people of color. I stand for an end to repression at home and abroad.

I stand for peace. I stand against this war and against the conditions, mentalities, and institutions that breed and nurture war and injustice.

I stand for sustainability. I stand against the destruction of forests, soil, water, environmental resources, and biodiversity on which all life depends.

I stand for justice. I stand against economic, political, and cultural institutions that promote a rat race mentality, huge economic and power inequalities, corporate domination even unto sweatshop and slave labor, racism, and gender and sexual hierarchies.

I stand for a policy that redirects the money used for war and military spending to provide healthcare, education, housing, and jobs.

I stand for a world whose political, economic, and social institutions foster solidarity, promote equity, maximize participation, celebrate diversity, and encourage full democracy.

I stand for peace and justice and, more, I pledge to work for peace and justice."

Click Here for Mayors for Peace Campaign page...

Click Here for the Hiroshima Peace Declaration

Links:

Back to Roger J. Wendell's Home Page...

Abbey | About | Blog | Contacting Me | Copyright | Disclaimer | Donate | Guest Book | Home | Site Index | Solutions | Terms, Conditions and Fair Use
Copyright © 1955 -